358 AN AMERICAN HUNTER 



among several makes, is superseding the others; although 

 for some purposes an old 45-70 or 45-90, even with black 

 powder, is as good as any modern weapon, and for very 

 heavy game the calibre should be larger than that of the 

 typical modern arm, with a heavier ball and more 

 powder. But after all, any good modern rifle is good 

 enough; when a certain pitch of excellence in the weapon 

 has been attained, then the determining factor in achiev- 

 ing success is the quality of the man behind the gun. 



My eldest boy killed his first buck just before he was 

 fourteen, and his first moose a big bull with horns 

 which spread 56 inches just before he was seventeen. 

 Both were killed in the wilderness, in the great north 

 woods, on trips sufficiently hard to afford some test of 

 endurance and skill. Such a hunting trip is even more 

 than a delightful holiday, provided the work is hard as 

 well as enjoyable; and therefore it must be taken in the 

 wilderness. Big private preserves may serve a useful 

 purpose if managed with such judgment and kindliness 

 that the good will of the neighborhood is secured; but 

 the sport in them somehow seems to have lost its savor, 

 even though they may be large enough to give the chance 

 of testing a man's woodcraft no less than his marksman- 

 ship. I have but once hunted in one of them. That 

 was in the fall of 1902, when Senator Proctor took me 

 into the Corbin Park game preserve in New Hampshire. 

 The Senator is not merely a good shot; he is a good 

 hunter, with the eye, the knowledge of the game, and the 

 ability to take advantage of cover and walk silently, 

 which are even more important than straight powder. 



